Do you think you know a lot about Cigars?

[TheRiddick]

Originally Posted by poker

I'll save folks the trouble of going to the link:

1) Many of you know I’m a BIG fan of corojo wrappers on my cigars, so with that being said, why is corojo grown under cheesecloth? Also, once past the seedling stage what other purpose does the cheesecloth serve in the tobacco’s growth?

2) Before cigars go into their molds prior to applying the wrapper, there is a specific bunching method used which is what inevitably defines the rolling technique for the cigar. In order of least complex to most complex, name the four major techniques.

3) Who is credited with being Europe’s first cigar roller and in what year did he claim to learn to properly roll a cigar from the Indians?

4) What major American political figure argued against a tobacco tax in 1794 because it would affect the poor the most? He called tobacco an “innocent gratification” and labeled it as something that should be enjoyed by those who wished to smoke.

5) What does the word cohiba mean in English and what is the story behind this famed Cuban brand?

6) Sir Winston Churchill has been in cigar news lately since a half-smoked cigar of his was just auctioned off for $7,000.00. He is an ironic historical figure and was known by all to be a cigar lover, but he was very careless with his smokes allowing them to often go out. Before re-lighting he would chew the ends mercilessly, but he did keep a candle around to re-light the sticks, which many times caused them to disintegrate. With that being said, Churchill actually invented a special protective paper for the foot of his cigars so he could still smoke them. What did he call this special paper??

Oh, hell, I'll take a stab:

1. Cheesecloth is used to shade tobacco plants from harsh sun rays. Once harvested, cheesecloth is dropped and re-used as side-wall frame in next harvest. Corojo wrapper is tied to the cheesecloth frame to ensure it grows upright (and stronger).


2. Bunching methods. I thought there are 5, actually, any reason she is missing one? Anyway... In order of least complex to most complex:

Lieberman bunch, bunching technique used for machine rolled cigars
Book bunch
Accordion bunch
Entubado bunch, aka Entubar

There is also a Figurado (Hybrid) bunch - complexity wise on Entubado level and probably even more so, very intolerant to mistakes while bunching. Not sure why she has not included this method in her question unless she does not consider Lieberman bunch a "method".

3. Sir Walter Raleigh?

4. Alexander Hamilton's proposed tax package of 1794.

5. Cohiba is Taino Indians' word for tobacco plant. This is where I disagreed with a recent thread's premise and stated then and stating now that Cohiba, as a BRAND, was officially introduced in 1982, band, box and all.

6. Bellybando.